AFP UK

Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – He spent the night on a tractor blocking a motorway in the French city of Strasbourg, before returning to feed his ewes and tend to his farm: at 35, Felix Meyer is taking part in his first major protest. Throughout the country, thousands of farmers have been staging protests for over a week, denouncing low incomes, red tape and environmental policies believed to undermine their ability to compete with other countries.

Los Alerces Natural Park (Argentina) (AFP) – Fire spreads through Argentina’s Los Alerces National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where raging flames have consumed more than 600 hectares. The fire was the result of arson, according to officials.

Taipei (AFP) – Shoppers throng Taipei as people look to see in the Lunar New Year with festivities and traditional food.

Hong Kong (AFP) – Hong Kong will create its own national security law “as soon as possible”, city leader John Lee said Tuesday, adding insurrection and other crimes not covered by existing legislation imposed by Beijing four years ago.

Bogotá (AFP) – Authorities in Colombia have seized 130 poisonous frogs being trafficked through the Bogota airport and have arrested the Brazilian woman carrying them.

Hebron (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Family and friends of Palestinian football captain Musab Al-Battat watch from the West Bank as his team take on Qatar in the AFC Asian Cup. The Palestinians lost the game 2-1, but it was the first time they had reached the knock-out stages of the tournament.

The Hague (AFP) – A 99-year-old time capsule discovered hidden under a statue of King William II during renovations is opened, revealing historical documents and books about the Dutch battles against Napoleon.

Barrancabermeja (Colombia) (AFP) – When fishermen Alvaro Fabra and Enrique Rivas were young, their parents and grandparents hunted manatees in the Magdalena River. Today, they are guardians of the species, calling to save them from looming extinction in Colombia.

Tbilisi (AFP) – Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announces his resignation, saying he will become chairman of the ruling party Georgian Dream going into parliamentary elections in October. The conservative-leaning Garibashvili, 41, has been prime minister since February 2021. His announcement comes a month after the political comeback of his close ally the powerful oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Hodeida (Yemen) (AFP) – More than two months after Yemen’s Huthi rebels captured the Galaxy Leader cargo ship and detained its 25 crew, the Iran-backed rebels have turned the vessel into a domestic “tourist attraction”. For about a dollar per trip, male-only groups of visitors can board wooden boats five times a week to the hijacked car carrier which the Huthis hail as a trophy in their fight in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Hanoi (AFP) – In a tiny village in northern Vietnam, where generations have worked in the ancient incense stick trade, tourists are now lining up to pose for pictures.

Niamey (Niger) (AFP) – Hundreds of people take to the streets of Niamey to celebrate the announcement made by the military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger on their immediate withdrawal from the West African bloc ECOWAS.